Zoren: At Thanksgiving, Tynan loves a parade

Last week, she put together and presented her winter forecast, in which she predicts a lot of shoveling between lulls when temperatures will remain low.

This week, the Channel 6 meteorologist joins colleague Rick Williams as the lead anchor of the annual local Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The parade is only the middle part of Cecily's mid-November schedule. Like most Americans, she has a family celebration planned, one that begins before the parade takes march and continues after she and Williams announce the arrival of Santa Claus and sign off until next Thanksgiving.

Cecily describes her Thanksgiving period as "crazy busy."

Forget all the parade prep. Cecily's relatives, her brother and sisters-in-law arrive on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving and sit up all night chatting.

"Think lots of coffee," Cecily said.

Of course, no matter how late it is before Cecily catches up with all of the family news, she knows she is going to receive an early wake-up call to get the parade site on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia in time to say good morning to the Channel 6 audience and start talking about the first band or float.

"More coffee," she said.

"And Rick Williams's jokes help a lot. I get a kick out those."

During the parade, Cecily's family, including her children, Luke and Emma, visit the broadcast booth. She also receives texts from friends watching in Raleigh, N.C., and other place where affiliates have picked up the parade.

Right after the parade, Cecily picks her mom in Delaware County and heads home.

"I have to admit, when the parade is over, and my adrenaline is waning, I usually end up taking an afternoon nap." Cecily said. "Thank goodness my husband (Greg Watson) takes over the cooking duties. I love waking up to the smell of Thanksgiving dinner cooking. The rest of the afternoon is time for family and eating. It is not a relaxing Thanksgiving, but I wouldn't have it any other way, Rick's jokes included.

"Now that I'm a mom, it is especially fun to see how much my children enjoy the parade," Tynan continued. "A few years ago, my daughter, Emma, fell in love with one of the parade's featured singers. 'Julia' is now my children's favorite baby sitter. I think my kids look forward to seeing her every year even more than seeing Santa!"

Cecily conveys a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and hopes everyone enjoys the day.

"And the parade."

Channel 6 to the rescue

Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade was about to be relegated to the annals of history.

It was begun in 1920 by Gimbel's department store which used the occasion to bring Santa Claus to its Center City, Ninth and Market, flagship store. Santa would actually climb a ladder and descend into a "chimney." It was quite dramatic for children.

Gimbel's went out of business and Stern's, which purchased Gimbel's stores, continued the parade. But Stern's also went out of business. The parade looked to be part of the collateral damage of the collapse of major department stores. Then 1984 came, and it looked as if for the first time in more than 60 years, Philadelphia would have no Thanksgiving march.

Channel 6 to the rescue.

Channel 6's general manager at the time, Larry Pollock, loved parades, as does current Channel 6 GM, Bernie Prazenica. His station aired the parade, and he set about to own it. Literally.

Each year, Channel 6 finds a sponsoring partner and produces the parade it airs. This year the partner is Dunkin' Donuts, and with Major Drumstick leading the charge, the show kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Cecily Tynan and Rick Williams will be in the anchor booth. Other Channel 6 personalities, including Karen Rogers and Adam Joseph, will be schmoozing with the parade crowd. Some will be waving with their children from the Channel 6 float.

Among celebrities gracing the parade are Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who last year produced a remarkable number of RBIs for a player who was out of the lineup for more than half the season; Delco native Charlie McDermott, currently seen as Axel, the wayward teen, on the ABC series "The Middle;" Kristen Alderson of ABC's "General Hospital," and "Good Morning America" weathercaster Sam Champion, who returns for the fifth time.

Singers and musicians abound at the parade. These include "American Idol" finalists Justin Guarini, who was electric and superb as Billy Flynn in the Media Theatre 2011 production of "Chicago," and Joshua Ledet; current faves All 4 One singing a medley of their hits; "America's Got Talent" Season 1 winner Bianca Ryan; veteran pop star Rita Coolidge; "American Idol" alumna, Frenchie; country singer Charlie Worsham; and the cast of the current Walnut Street Theatre production, "The Music Man."

Marching from the Disney Channel is Coco Jones. Also in the line are Philadelphia radio and pop music legend Jerry Blavat, Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler, and the Pennsbury High School Marching Band.

Disney is, of course, represented by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, joined by the cast of "Disney on Ice Presents Rockin' Ever After" and Rapunzel and Flynn from "Tangled." Non-Disney participants include characters from Sesame Place.

Also featured are Miss Pennsylvania, Miss Delaware, and Miss New Jersey along with Miss America's Outstanding Teen, Rachel Wyatt, and the Outstanding Teens from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. The Eagles cheerleaders will also appear, as will Carli Lloyd and other member of the USA gold medal soccer team from the 2012 London Olympics, Heather O'Reilly, Nicole Barnhart, and Christie Rampone.

The parade will feature a special tribute to Dick Clark, who started his climb to stardom at Channel 6.

Viewers can also watch in the 11 a.m. hour of the parade for words they can text for a chance to win prizes including mini-tablets, a video game system, and a family trip to the South Seas Island Resort in Florida.

A private affair?

Michael Strahan said the words I wanted to hear while talking about former CIA director David Petraeus and his dalliance with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

Strahan, during his daily badinage segment with morning show co-host, Kelly Ripa, said if Petraeus is the most qualified person for his various jobs, why should a romantic affair end his career and service to the nation?

Ripa talked about security and blackmail.

I go with Strahan's original thought. Yes, blackmail is possible, but what are the grounds for blackmail if the affair is known?

We live in a Judy Hensler world.

Hensler is the character on the classic sitcom, "Leave It to Beaver," who tells on everybody in the class, making the teacher, Miss Lander, investigate schoolyard incidents and impose discipline she'd rather avoid, while getting Beaver and his friends in trouble.

Hensler is the ultimate moralist, the one who can't stand if someone is having a relatively harmless good time and wants a sort of politically correct perfection.

The media these days acts as a pack of Judy Henslers. They like to appear sophisticated and broad-minded, but they are actually a bunch of back-fence gossips who are parochial and conservative in their attitudes. Until, that is, they are the ones caught in the moralistic net.

While I of course would be troubled if Petraeus shared state secrets or classified information with his mistress, or even his wife, I do care if he has a mistress or if she is jealous and emails someone she suspects to be his next mistress in threatening words.

It's not attractive, but I'd rather have Petraeus's talent working for my and my country's defense than someone with lesser military gifts. I was never interested in his wife, and I'm not interested in his mistress or the twins she regards as rivals.

If they turn out to be Mata Hari, the World War I spy that slept with generals to glean secrets, I'll recant. But for now, I don't care who Petraeus loves or has in his bed. I care that he is brilliant and has been the difference that improved situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If Bill Clinton could have affairs, and many presidents before him, why not David Petraeus?

Besides, as Barbara Walters said on "The View," Broadwell is a biographer and archivist. It would be legitimate for her to be privy to some otherwise private information and to hold her tongue regarding it.

I refer readers to play from the 1920s, Harley Granville Barker's "Waste," in which a man everyone, Tory and Labour, thinks should be prime minister is driven from public life by a sex scandal. Barker dramatically poses the question Strahan did.

The media, from political analysts to "Good Morning America's" Lara Spencer, have to be careful about moralism. It's as much a poison as scandal itself.